If you've ever felt as though God is not active in your life, the book of Exodus is for you. If you've ever felt abandoned by God, the book of Exodus is for you. If you've ever wondered where God is in your life, what happened to the miracles, why he seems so distant or unconcerned, the book of Exodus is for you.

If you regard the Bible as a holy text, one that has special force and authority in your life, I implore you – Read the Bible using the same approach you would use for any other type of communication. To do anything else (even unintentionally) is exceptionally dangerous. It neuters your holy text and places you (the reader) as the arbiter of meaning.

Genesis 1:2 presents a world in watery chaos. How is Yahweh going to bring order? Why a watery chaos? Ancient Israelites would have seen a watery chaos at the beginning of a story as a genre trigger for a creation story (what we call a "cosmogony").